Early modern historian. Loves gender, women's, social & royal histories. Ventures elswhere when interest is piqued. Blog may cover above themes or something a little more random. Find me on Twitter @ruthrblair

The nine children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert married into many European royal households and subsequently, King Edward VII was known as the uncle of Europe. His sister Victoria married Prince Frederick William of Prussia, making Bertie the uncle of the German Kaiser, Willhelm II.

Alix’s younger sister Dagmar was the wife of Tsar Alexander III and the mother of Tsar Nicholas II. This makes Edward VII the uncle of Tsar Nicholas II via marriage and the uncle of Nicholas’ wife, another Alexandra (of Hesse and the Rhine) through her mother and Edward VII’s sister, Princess Alice of Hesse.

Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, and her children

Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, and her children

Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale

He was born prematurely on 8 January 1864 and died on 14 January 1892

I’ve discussed Prince Albert Victor in other posts. He was posthumously accused of being Jack the Ripper and was engaged to Princess May of Teck but died of influenza before they could marry. She later became engaged to his brother, Prince George, the Duke of York. Eddy, as he was known, was considered educationally subnormal by his tutors and today would probably be diagnosed with ADHD or similar. It was a trait that echoed his father’s schoolroom career, his early death denied him the opportunity of proving his doubters wrong.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale

King George V

Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert, Duke of York. Married Princess May of Teck

He was born prematurely on 3 June 1865 and died on 20 January 1936

He succeeded his father to the throne, he reigned from 6 May 1910 to his death. You can read my Thoughts on George V here.

Victoria was her mother’s companion and never married. She spoke to her brother, the King, daily, and was once overheard saying to him, ‘Hello, you old fool’.

Princess Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria

She was born on 26 November 1869 and died 20 November 1938. Married Prince Carl of Denmark

Prince Carl of Denmark was Maud’s cousin. He was elected King of Norway in 1905. Prince Carl became King Haakon VII and their son Crown Prince Olav. Carl and Maud were crowned King and Queen of Norway on 22 June 1906.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway

Prince Alexander John Charles Albert

He was born 6 April 1871 and died 7 April 1871

This little prince was born prematurely and lived only 24 hours. He is buried at Sandringham.

I’m not sure why it seems she was predisposed to it – but initially with the first baby (if I remember rightly) she was out enjoying a winter’s day watching ice-skating and she had her pains come on. With one child, she fell ill, possibly rheumatic fever and took months to recover. She was a very slim woman and comments from family correspondents to Bertie would say how thin and ill she would look. She hid a lot of stress, I dare say, with Bertie’s constant philandering.

Haha, probably!
King Edward VII was known as Bertie (Albert) but his regal name was Edward (against his mother’s wishes if I remember correctly).
King Edward VIII was known by his family as David, but he was named Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. That is a mouthful. The George Andrew Patrick and David come from the patron saints of the British​ Isles!
My children have 1 middle name.

And I have no middle name at all. Suddenly I’m grateful. I remember reading a Shakespeare play in high school and the characters went by their names and also by their–I guess you’d say locations, so that the Duke of Bedford would be Bedford. (I have no idea if there is a duke of Bedford. I pulled that out of a hat.) It was like reading a Russian novel, with everyone running around with multiple names. I not only couldn’t keep the characters straight, I wasn’t even sure how many there were. Now, if it had been on stage I’d have been fine. There’d be the guy in the red cloak, the guy in black, and so forth.